The Observer reported that Shipman said interacting with animals on an intimate basis led humans to help develop sophisticated tools and evolve enhanced communication skills.

She traced humanity's animals connection to 2.5 million years ago when hominids first made tools.

"These apemen didn't just pick up stones and use them to hammer or pound prey or plants," Shipman told the Observer. "They shaped those rocks for specific purposes. They had a mental image of the kind of tools they needed and created them by chipping away at a large piece of stone until they got what they wanted."

She said these tools were used to cut up carcasses, which led our ancient relatives to begin scavenging for meat from carcasses of prey killed by leopards, cheetahs and other carnivores.

Shipman has even more in depth explanations about the birth of the relationship between animals and our ancestors in her new book "The Animal Connection."